Disclaimer: I do NOT own The Lion Guard or any of its characters, they belong to Disney! I DO own my own character Nekoda (Kody), because I made her up!

This story takes place before Season 2 of The Lion Guard.

Kion was bored. Ever since he banished the hyenas back to the Outlands for the thousandth time and settled petty squabbles among the different animals of the Pride Lands, nothing exciting or unexpected happened anymore. Being the leader of the Lion Guard, all the animals of the Pride Lands stopped to show him respect now more than ever, as if he were king! Kion closed his eyes into slits and stretched out onto his back to expose his soft belly to the warm Sahara sun. With it being so quiet, he had plenty of time for afternoon naps like when he was younger. He just wished something would happen soon.

"Kion! Hey, Kion!" yelled a voice from below. Kion snapped awake and rolled over to see who was calling him. His honey badger friend, Bunga, waved excitedly up at him. Bunga was Kion's best friend and the bravest member of the Lion Guard, but sometimes he was brave to the point of stupidity, like now.

He sat on the back of Fuli the cheetah, who looked annoyed about the extra passenger. Fuli is the fastest member of the Guard and the only female member, but that means she's also the toughest out of all of them. She bucked Bunga off and he face planted into the dust. "Hey! What was that for?"

Fuli rolled her eyes and retorted, "I told you not to hitch rides on me! How many times do I have to say it?"

"Once more, apparently," spoke another voice. Kion glanced up to see another member of the Lion Guard, Ono, hovering in the air. Ono was a cattle egret, a bird, so appropriately he was the keenest of sight in the Guard. While the two quarreled below, Ono flew up to where Kion lay and landed next to him. "Guess it was a good thing I came along, I wasn't sure these two would give you the message on their own."

"Why? Is there something going on?" the lion cub asked. Ono only nodded, still watching the fight below. Kion sat up at that, it seems he was about to get his wish. He jumped down off the rock and in between his two friends. "Hey! Did you forget that you guys rushed all the way over here to tell me something? Or was it not that important?"

Bunga immediately snapped out of his anger and his carefree grin returned. Fuli stopped growling, but she still looked irritated. It was Ono who answered him, "It seems there's an intruder in the Pride Lands."

Kion was confused. "It seems? Is there or isn't there?" Ono looked lost.

Fuli stepped in to tell this part. "We got a report from an aardvark that there was someone sleeping in his den again. He wanted us to get rid of them-"

"The jackals are back?" Kion asked worriedly. Even though it was relatively easy to drive them out, he was not eager to see the family of sneaks that tricked him into thinking they were friendly just to steal every other animal's food during Kupatana.

The cheetah was quick to calm him. "No, no, although that's what we thought at first. Since it was on the way to meet you, we decided to check it out for ourselves."

"And it wasn't a jackal!" exclaimed Bunga.

Fuli shook her spotted head in irritation. "Yes, Bunga! We've established that already!"

"Oh, sorry."

"Why do you always-" They started to argue again.

Ono continued explaining to Kion while the two friends bickered, "Like Bunga said, it wasn't a jackal. It's something I've never seen before and she looked hurt. We couldn't wake her up, so that's when we decided to get you."

Kion nodded. He glanced around before adopting a confused expression. "Come to think of it, where's Beshte? Wasn't he with you guys?" Beshte, a hippo, was the final member of the Lion Guard, holding the title of the strongest. Given his large stature it was odd that Kion had missed him.

"We decided to bring the intruder to Rafiki since she seemed to be hurt and unconscious. The three of us went on ahead to warn you, but he should be coming now."

Sure enough, a lumbering form came into view. Beshte was making his way as fast as he could without disturbing the passenger sprawled out on his back. It took a minute before Kion could make out the features of the newcomer and he thought that they looked decidedly familiar.

The intruder appeared to have a lion's stature, close to Kion's age, but she was bulkier. She had a thicker coat with spots all over… That's it! She looked like a leopard! The only difference was the spots, these ones were closer to Fuli's than an actual leopard, and the color. Unlike the normal cream-colored leopards he encountered before, this leopard had a light gray, almost white coat. It reflected the sun quite brightly and Kion had to screw his eyes up against the glare to keep from being blinded.

Kion turned to his friends. "Okay, Fuli, Ono, go warn Rafiki about our injured visitor. Bunga, go help Beshte take her to the Guard's hangout, she can rest there until she wakes up. I'm going to go speak with my dad and see if he knows what kind of animal she is and where she comes from."

They all nodded and sped off without a word. Kion took one last look at the mysterious visitor before turning and running up to the top of Pride Rock. He found his father, Simba, speaking quietly to his mother, Nala, in the throne room. It seems Simba got a break from his kingly duties as well.

Simba turned confusedly at his son's brash entrance. "Kion? Is something wrong?"

"Dad, there's someone, uh, new. She fell asleep in an aardvark den so the Guard was asked to remove her. Problem is she seems hurt and she won't wake up." Simba opened his mouth to speak, but Kion plowed ahead with his tale, "We decided to take her to Rafiki to see if he could do anything, but there's something I needed to ask you."

The king of the Pride Lands looked thoughtful. News of someone new was rare, he would need to investigate this 'intruder' himself. Simba spoke when he realized Kion was waiting for a response, "That was the right thing to do, Kion. What is it you needed to ask me?"

Kion stopped and picked his words with care. He spoke slowly, unsure of how to correctly phrase the question, "Um, well. I'm trying to figure out what species she is. It seems like this newcomer is a leopard, but also not a leopard."

"Huh? What do you mean? How can she be a leopard but also not a leopard?"

"Well she certainly looks like a leopard, shape wise, but her coloring is off and the spots are slightly different. Her coat is white, not cream like the other leopards I've met. The spots on her body are also smaller and only black."

Simba turned to Nala in astonishment. "I need to see."

Kion then found himself following his father down to the Guard's hangout. When they arrived they noticed that his friends were crowding around an alcove near the back. Rafiki was already at work, trying to heal the young cub and help her to wake. When he noticed the king waiting patiently, he quickly finished wrapping a leaf binding around her stomach. He spoke without his usual cheer, "Simba..."

"I know."

Kion was getting annoyed at being ignorant. "Well I don't! What is she dad?"

Simba chuckled at his son's frustration. "I don't mean to keep you in the dark, Kion. I'm just surprised is all. Truthfully, I've only heard stories of this species before and I never thought the Pride Lands would ever see one."

"So you know what she is?" asked Fuli.

He nodded. "Yes. You were partially correct, Kion, when you said she was a leopard. She's what is known as a snow leopard."

Recognition lit the young cub's face. "Snow? Like with the gorillas?"

"Yes and no. She lives in a habitat similar to theirs, but normally snow leopards are found to the far north. Farther than any king has ever traveled. The only reason that I know about them is from the gorillas. Apparently one wandered far enough south to come into contact with their tribe, but left soon after." Simba walked closer to the sleeping form. "You see she has a much thicker coat than you or I because she lives in a place where it is snowing all the time. She can't handle heat very well."

Rafiki spoke up, "Now the only question is clear. Why has she come so far south?"

Nala, who had been silent up until now, finally spoke, "Well that answer will have to wait until she wakes up. Regardless, I don't think she meant any harm. Besides, she can't be much older than Kiara."

Simba agreed, "Right. She's not a prisoner until we get some answers. Rafiki, let me know when she wakes up."

"Of course."

"Kion, you better get back out there. There's probably something you need to take care of."

"Sure, dad." Kion decided to leave it to his parents, as much as he wanted to stay, and gathered the Guard, "Well, come on everyone. We've got a patrol to do. I'm sure Janja and his hyenas are back again while we've been distracted."

As the Lion Guard left the cave, Simba took another look at the young cub. He felt a flash of anger and fear for a split second when he saw that she possessed a scar over her eye akin to his uncle's. He had to shake his head to remove the memories of his childhood, reminding himself that this was only a cub, not even a lion and definitely NOT Scar. He hoped she woke soon.

And that's that! My first ever story, hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Please Review!